Retailers go online to win Black Friday price warBig-box retailers are incorporating e-commerce into their real-world sales strategies, using real-time data analysis to ensure they're matching their rivals' promotional offers, and often applying the same discounts to their online pricing. That's good news for both offline and online consumers, although some analysts fear the move could sharply reduce the profits retailers are able to wring out of holiday-sales shoppers. The Wall Street Journal
(11/23)

Survey: As content marketing increases, so do the challengesAccording to a Curata report, 87% of B2B marketers use content marketing -- up from 82% in 2011 -- and it leads all other tactics. But only 43% of respondents felt their content curation efforts had been successful by their own standards of measure. Creating original content and finding time to do it were by far the most prominent challenges cited by marketers. eMarketer
(11/20)

CASE STUDY: An App Platform Built in XamarinArcTouch used Xamarin to create a mobile platform for global lifestyle brand GUESS. Now with three highly rated apps for iOS and Android, this foundation helped the company dramatically increase its mobile revenue. DOWNLOAD CASE STUDY

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Getting the Word Out

How Campbell cooks up super buzzCampbell Soup is trying to win over a new generation of consumers with Campbell's Go, a microwavable, soft-packeted soup brand. The product launch has focused on building a quirky brand personality, using dedicated Facebook and Tumblr pages, along with brand partnerships with BuzzFeed and Spotify, to start organic conversations with fans. ClickZ
(11/23)

7 Strategies to Improve Content MarketingMedia and publishing companies are facing serious headwinds as a result of dramatic demographic and technological disruption. Yet, many - both legacy and digital natives - are monetizing existing capabilities and developing new offerings to expand their audiences and grow revenue. Download our whitepaper to learn how to gain your competitive edge.

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Developer Update

Why HTML5 hasn't lived up to the hypeHTML5 hasn't proved to be the game-changer some thought it would be, Spaceport.io founder Ben Savage writes. HTML5 simply isn't robust enough for high-end applications, and mobile-app stores give a big infrastructural advantage to native apps, he explains. "If HTML5 truly is the future, then we're much farther from that future than we thought." VentureBeat
(11/24)

Design Corner

Why app creators shouldn't put form before functionToday's application developers tend to focus on making their products visually beautiful rather than functional, product design expert Chloe Bregman writes. But that trend -- which Bregman calls "pretty first" -- is a bad idea, since even the prettiest apps will fail if they're bug-ridden or simply not helpful. "Focus on creating a useful product first. ... [D]on't fine-tune each pixel," Bregman advises. TechCrunch
(11/24)

Small Businesses & Entrepreneurs

Five ways to boost your SMB's social presence during the holidaysThe holiday season is a great time for SMBs to introduce themselves to customers through social media, marketing expert Ilana Bercovitz writes. "Your holiday social media activity doesn't require an elaborate plan" if you don't yet have one, Bercovitz explains. Instead, use these five simple methods -- including direct conversation with customers and supporting a charity -- to engage holiday shoppers and boost your brand's social media presence. Small Business Trends
(11/22)

Association News

Best e-mail advertising campaigns to be named by Web Marketing AssociationThe Web Marketing Association judges will select the best e-mail advertising campaigns in 86 industries as part of their 11th annual Internet Advertising Competition Awards. The award program has categories for both individual e-mail creative as well as campaigns. Enter your best e-mail marketing ads and campaigns and win the recognition you deserve.